Palma Bay Crowns the Winners of the 42nd Copa del Rey MAPFRE

The 42nd Copa del Rey MAPFRE concluded with a magnificent day of racing in the always reliable Palma Bay. Javier Banderas's “Teatro del Soho Altavista” won the Watches of Switzerland ORC 0 class after a week-long duel with the “Aifos,” “Elena Nova” defended its title in the Odilo ORC 1 class, and “Fala Pouco,” the winner of the Balearia ORC 3 class, was proclaimed overall champion.

Palma Bay bid farewell to the competitors of the 42nd Copa del Rey MAPFRE, reaffirming once again its well-deserved reputation as an excellent sailing competition venue. The 2024 edition of the Mallorca classic ended with nine races in the ORC divisions, ten in the ClubSwan one-designs, twelve in J/70, and the maximum number of races in the women’s class.

The class champions of the 42nd Copa del Rey MAPFRE were the Spanish “Teatro del Soho Altavista” in Watches of Switzerland ORC 0, “Elena Nova” in Odilo ORC 1, “Fala Pouco” in Balearia ORC 3, “Pez de Abril” in ClubSwan 42, “Kimpton Hotels Les Roches” in Sandberg Estates J70, and “Citanias RCN Vigo” in Women’s Cup Class; the Argentine “Katara” in Altavista ORC 2; and the German “Earlybird” in ClubSwan 50. The overall ORC category title went to “Fala Pouco.”

“Teatro del Soho Altavista” was crowned champion in the Watches of Switzerland ORC 0 class, which grouped the largest boats. The TP52, owned by Javier Banderas, helmed by Dani Cuevas, and with tactics by double Olympic champion Luis Doreste, was the best of the week, marked by its duel with the Spanish Navy’s “Aifos,” helmed by King Felipe. The difference between them at the end of the competition was 5.5 points. This well-deserved victory marks the ninth Copa del Rey MAPFRE for Javier Banderas's team, which won in the ORC 2 category last year. The French “Daguet 3” of Frederic Puzin finished third.

In the Odilo ORC 1 class, “Elena Nova” by Christian Plump and Javier Sanz, with Chuny Bermúdez at the helm, successfully defended its title. The 2023 champion, which started with an out-of-line penalty in the first race, climbed positions throughout the week to claim the lead at the end of the fourth day. On the final day, it went into the water with the smallest lead in the fleet, less than a point. Two wins in the two races left its rivals without options. The Estonian “Katariina II” by Aivar Tuulberg finished second, and the “HM Hospitales Hydra” helmed by Fernando León finished third.

In the Altavista ORC 2 class, the Argentine “Katara” by Julián Somodi secured the title by winning the last two races of the championship. It led by 13 points over the Italian “Guardamago SRL” by Masimo Piparo and 15 over “L’Immens – Laplaza Assessors” by Carles Rodríguez, the ORC 3 champion in 2018 and 2019.

The Balearia ORC 3 title went to the Valencian “Fala Pouco” helmed by José Ballester, with a 9.5-point lead over the Andalusian “Varicentro D6” by Manuel Sanz and 11 over the Balearic “Wanderlust” by Josep Pons.

The winner of ClubSwan 50 was the 2017, 2018, and 2021 champion, “Earlybird” by Hendrik Brandis. The German boat replicated the excellent performance demonstrated throughout the week with a final day that included a third and a second, ending its participation with a seven-point lead over the champion of the last two editions, “Hatari” by fellow German Marcus Brennecke. Graeme Peterson’s “Moonlight” finished third.

In ClubSwan 42, “Pez de Abril” won. The boat, owned and helmed by José María Meseguer with tactics by Antonio “Talpi” Piris, secured its third Copa del Rey MAPFRE, adding to the titles won in 2017 and 2018, by finishing fifth in both races on the final day. Joining the Murcian boat on the podium were the Italian “Canopo” and “Spirit of Nerina.”

The Women’s Cup Class was decided in a Medal Race among the top six teams of the week, who reached this grand final with the points accumulated up to that point. The final race was won by the title defender, “Balearia RCN Palma” by the Balearic Maria Bover, but the overall victory went to “Citanias RCN Vigo” by the Galician Patricia Suárez, who needed only a second place to secure the title with a four-point lead over “CN El Balís” by Bárbara Cornudella and six points over the 2023 champions.

“Kimpton Hotels - Les Roches” was crowned champion of the Sandberg Estates J70 class with the largest margin of victory among the eight classes. The J/70, owned by Luis Freire and Pepequín Orbaneja, and helmed by the Galician Luis Bugallo, went into the water with a 17-point lead at the top of the standings and confirmed the title with one race to spare. They finished with a 26.5-point lead over the American “Empeiria” by John Heaton. The Turkish “Denizcik” by Gulboy Guryel finished third.

In addition to the eight class titles, the 42nd Copa del Rey MAPFRE awarded the overall prize for the best ORC category boat. The victory went to “Fala Pouco” owned by Andrés Manresa and helmed by José Ballester. The Dufour 40 DK from RCN Torrevieja won in a fleet of 17 boats in the Balearia ORC 3 class and achieved the best combined results among the four ORC categories.